Fuhrer Grenadier Brigade

The Fuhrer Grenadier Brigade was an elite German Wehrmacht combat unit that was active from April 1943 to May 1945 during World War II. The brigade was created to serve as a second guard unit on the outer perimeter of Adolf Hitler's Wolfsschanze lair in Rastenburg, East Prussia, but it was reorganized as an armored brigade in 1944 and sent to fight the Soviets. Personnel were hand-picked from the Panzergrenadier Division Grossdeutschland, and it fought in conjunction with the Hermann Goering Division and the 5th Panzer Division. In December 1944, the division was sent west to take part in the Battle of the Bulge, but it was pulled from the line in January 1945, enlarged to division size, and sent to Army Group Vistula. In April, it was reassigned to the 6th Panzer Army, and it surrendered to the US Army near Vienna, Austria in May 1945.